Astrological Weather March 20th to March 26th

 All Times Pacific

Sunday

03/20/22 5:40 AM Moon Square Pluto- Under this aspect you may feel like making some major changes in your life such as leaving a job or relationship. If these aspects of your life are not working out the way you like, this could give you the motivation to make that change. However, if you're generally happy there's not need to make any drastic change, or this could lead to unnecessary disruption in your life.

Monday

03/21/22 5:58 AM Moon Opposite Uranus-   No matter how carefully you plan things today, it simply won't go as expected. Relationships, especially those with women, can be more disruptive now. You can be more rebellious and act out by deliberately doing the opposite of what you are told. Today is a good day to break unhealthy habits and unproductive routines

Tuesday

3/22/22  9:01 AM Moon Sextile Pluto-   Your patience for superficial people and things is at its thinnest. Deep feelings within you are stimulated now and you are more interested in why you feel the way that you feel. You may be drawn into a mystery that you simply must pursue!

Wednesday

3/23/22 10:12 AM Moon Sextile Mars -   You are now more aligned with those things about which you are passionate. You have more courage and confidence now and can are comfortable with being a leader. You can assert yourself now in such a way that people follow you without fearing or resenting you.

Thursday

3/24/22 5:59 AM Moon Square Mercury- Your feelings and thoughts are in conflict. You find it harder to express your feelings in a clear and positive manner. You have to make a more concerted effort to express yourself so that misunderstanding don't occur which can leave you resenting those around you Be careful of agreeing with others just to NOT disagree, and vice versa.

Friday

3/25/22 12:16 PM Moon Trine Uranus -   Pleasant surprises can await you today. Expect some good news or a chance meeting that brings pleasure and excitement into your life. You feel rebellious today, but you know when to draw the line so that you don't go too far

Saturday

3/26/22  6:37 AM Moon Sextile Neptune-  Your intuition is sharper now and you may experience psychic episodes. You may feel like you are in  a dreamy, trance-like mood today. The opportunity to express yourself in a creative way is presented to you. You may engage in occult activities.

Full Moon in 27° Virgo

 

Full Moon in 27° Virgo 3/18/21 12:17 AM Natural Chart / Whole Houses

A Full Moon occurs when the Sun and Moon occupy the same degree of opposite signs of the zodiac.  As you can see from the chart above, the Moon is at 27° Virgo and the Sun is 180 degrees away at 27° Pisces forming an opposition. This creates a dynamic of the Sun and Moon challenging one another; something is being split, divided.

The Big Picture

Virgo is an Earth / Mutable / Passive sign ruled by Mercury.  Virgo represents the archetype of the healer, the servant, and the analyst to name a few.  Generally speaking, Virgos are detail-oriented, humble, critical, practical, perfectionist who wish to be of service to others.

Pisces is a Water / Mutable / Passive sign ruled by Neptune. They represent the archetype of the mystic, the dreamer, and the visionary. Pisces people are generally thought to be introverted, romantic, mystical, withdrawn, creative, isolated, and artistic.

With the Moon in Virgo forming an opposition to the Sun in Pisces we have the dynamic of my need to be of service to others at odds with my need to withdraw into self. During this time you may feel pulled in opposite directions. You may feel that someone is pressuring you to do something that is not of primary importance to you and you feel like there isn't anything you can do about the situation.

This may be a particularly difficult full moon for anyone born with the Sun in Gemini or Sagittarius because these signs square Virgo. However, if you are a Capricorn or a Taurus this should be a much easier Full Moon for you because these signs Trine Virgo.

This is a pattern we can see play out on a large scale by watching the news, paying attention to what is going on social media and in the lives of our family and friends; or on a small scale by examining our own natal charts to see where the Full Moon is taking place.

How to Work Wiwithh Full Moon in Virgo Energy

• practice humility
• be of service to others
• balance your checkbook, double check your taxes
• catch up on any record-keeping
• read a murder mystery, or solve a crossword puzzle (in ink)
• invite a friend over for a game of chess, scrabble, or mahjong
• start the process of spring cleaning
• declutter & organize your home or work space to be more efficient
• prune and water your plants
• engage in journaling, writing, or editing that needs to be done

The Personal Touch

To understand how the Full Moon in Virgo affects us an individual's we need to see where 0 degrees Virgo is in our own natal charts.  For example, zero degrees Virgo in my natal chart is on the cusp of the 11th House, which is known as the area of our chart associated with ideals and goals.  Across from the 11th house at 180 degrees is the 5th house which rules over our creativity and self-expression.

When looked at this way, we can see that (for me) my desire to use my creativity and self-expression to be of service to others will be in conflict with my desire to withdraw into myself to focus on my personal wishes and goals. Since the Full Moon is also associated with endings and completion, the full moon transiting my 11th house could signal the end of a friendship or the completion of a goal.

Aspects

Finally, it is always a good idea to look at the aspects, or relationships, between the Full Moon and other planets in your natal chart. An examination of my own chart reveals that the Full Moon is applying a trine (soft aspect) to my natal Jupiter. Under this aspect you feel good about yourself and your life and as a result goods things tend to happen to you and for you.

Where does zero degrees Virgo fall in your chart and how will the Full Moon in Virgo manifest for you?

Carolina Dean

The American Heritage Grimoire

This is the third entry in my series which I am calling the Books of Magic, my personal collection of grimoires, books of shadows, spell books, etc... 

Now as you may or may not know, I like to give all my little grimoires names. I have already introduced you to My Grimoire and My Little Black Book and today I would like to share with you what I am calling the American Heritage Grimoire. 

The reason I am call this book the American Heritage Grimoire is that is contains spells, rituals, and beliefs I have collected from works of fiction such as books, comic books, movies, and television shows. I have also collected information from works of non-fiction such as old newspaper clippings, documentaries, etc. - works which are a part of our shared collective culture. 

I have already filled up this travel journal and will soon be starting a new one in which, I will continue to collect new spells and rituals. Collectively, these journals will be referred to as the Lore - a term I borrowed from the tv show Supernatural in which Sam and Dean often refer to the Lore when researching whatever supernatural threat they may be hunting at any given time. 

Usually, I share photographs of pages from my books of magic, however, I will not be doing so in this entry. This reason I will not be showing any pictures is that in the coming weeks and months, I will she sharing this information in various blog entries with the label Magic in Popular Culture (MIPC). In this series, I will take a spell, ritual, or belief from a work of fiction and analyze it against real world magical beliefs and practices. I will also suggest any changes that I think will improve the spell and in those cases that I actually cast the spell or performed the ritual myself, I will share the outcome. 

 

Carolina Dean 

MIPC: Yarrow Love Potion

 

Yarrow ©2021

 The Spell 

"Back when I was first teaching at the University I had a student who came from a particularly secluded area of the Ozarks. Her name was Rune, and she had been raised in an atmosphere of witchcraft, for her other and aunts all claimed to be practicing witches. Whether this girl was  one or not, she had been taught a number of charms, which she used quite freely. She used to talk with me about it, knowing my interest in the subject. 

I remember one time in particular - He smiled at the memory. Rune was in love with a young man who was a member of the basketball team. He was an extremely good-looking boy, and very popular. He dated one of the cheerleaders, and they planned to be married as soon as they graduated. Well Rune decided to do something to upset that plan.

She attended an after-game party in the cheerleader's dorm room,, and while there she went into the bathroom and got a couple of hairs out of her rival's brush. She took those back to her room and made a little statue out of beeswax and stuck the hairs in it. Then she lit a match and began melting the wax figure. She let a couple drops of wax fall, and then she blew out the match and went back to the party. 

Well it just so happened that while Rune was in her room performing this little ceremony, the cheerleader had become suddenly ill with stomach pains. The party broke up, and the basketball playing boyfriend was leaving just as Rune reached the door. They stood in the hall and chatted a few minutes, and then Rune suggested in a friendly way that they go back to her own rom, where she could make some coffee. So they did, and she brewed the coffee and put something in it - I think she referred to the ingredient as millfoil, but I believe it was actually a part of a plant called Achillea millefolium. For that night on, as far as I know, Rune and the basketball player were a steady couple, and he never looked at that poor little cheerleader again."

Summer of Fear (1977),  Lois Duncan  

The Analysis 

Achille Millefolium, aka Yarrow, has a long history in medicine as well as magic. Herbalist have used yarrow to promote bleeding as well as to stop the flow of blood from wounds, heal bruises, to bring up phlegm, and treat skin disorder to name a few. It should be noted that contact with Yarrow can cause allergic skin rashes. 

In magic, however, Yarrow has several uses most of which center around drawing love, and fostering psychic abilities. According to writer and herbalist Scott Cunningham, yarrow attracts "love, friendship, and distant relations" - perhaps this is also why it was used as a main ingredient on Charmed (1998) in the spell to call a lost witch?  He also goes on to state that a tea made of yarrow flowers will improve a person's psychic abilities. In addition, the stalks of yarrow have been used to cast the I-Ching and the flowers have been placed under pillows to help you dream of your future spouse. 

In his book, Ozark Magic and Folklore, Vance Randolph states that Yarrow is used by women in the Ozarks to make love potions by slipping it into the food or drink of the object of their affection. 

I personally would not recommend anyone slip Yarrow into another person's food or drink for this purpose unless a) that they are absolutely sure the herb is Yarrow b) the herbs was thoroughly cleaned of any possible pesticides, c) the yarrow was properly dried, and d) they were absolutely sure that they wanted this person to be devoted to them. 

All ethics aside, love is a fickle thing. Many a witch has cast a spell to gain the love and affection of someone only to find that once they got their wo/man they no longer wanted him or her. Not to mention how easily love can turn deadly. In addition, once you have your wo/man you may find it hard to rid yourself of him or her as the Grimoires and receipt books provide no antidote to the potion. 

However, if you find yourself burdened with an ensorcelled lover and wish to be rid of him or her, Cunningham tells us that pistachio nuts are used in Arabic countries to counter-act love potions. In the New Orleans Voodoo Tradition, one of my teachers shared a powerful spell which calls for the remains of a black-widow spider. Still, I would not draw from this well too many times as you may find that it has run dry and you are forever bound to a lover you now despise. 

Carolina Dean 

Astrological Weather March 13th to March 19th

 All Times Pacific

Sunday

03/13/22 8:44 AM Moon Opposite Pluto- Hidden dimensions of your life are activated now bringing about emotional conflicts. It is possible to lose something you would rather keep or keep something you'd rather lose now. Your emotions are amplified and you can clash with others, especially if you try to emotionally manipulate or control them.

Monday

03147/22 0300 AM Moon Opposite Venus-  Small annoyances can prevent you from enjoying life's goodness to your satisfaction.  Daily life and your usual routine, things you do on a daily basis without a second thought, now irritate you to the point of procrastination and laziness. You can possibly buy something you can't really afford or find yourself attracted to someone completely wrong for you.

Tuesday

3/15/22  3:56 AM, Moon Opposite Saturn-  You can feel both unappreciated and misunderstood now, which can cause problems with older people, your parents, or superiors at work. Things just don't turn out the way you expect them too now, in fact, they can be completely the opposite. Your mood is more pessimistic and your relationships can suffer. You come across as cold and apathetic. This is a good day to keep your head down until this aspect passes

Wednesday

3/16/22 7:08 PM< Moon Opposite Mercury -   Conflict between feelings and thoughts are brought to bear under this aspect. Your communication skills are lacking in that you may speak a great deal without really saying anything. You may think that others misunderstand you and you are inclined to respond negatively.

Thursday

3/17/22 6:44 AM Moon Opposite Jupiter-   .  Under this aspect you feel more pessimistic than usual. You may not harbor positive feelings about our future or you may be overconfident, either way you have difficulty seeing the big picture right now. You may exhibit self-righteous behavior.

Friday

3/18/22 4:11 AM Moon Trine Pluto -   Under the influence of this aspect it is much easier to make otherwise difficult changes in your life, such as breaking a bad habit. Anything done now, you will find more rewarding. You have a deeper understanding of people and their motivations. If you have a lover you can draw closer to them now and have powerful sexual experiences

Saturday

3/19/22  4:16 AM Venus Square Uranus-      Sudden and unexpected events upset your relationships. You may experience a tug-of-war within yourself between the desire for freedom and the desire for greater intimacy. Some people may find themselves stuck in a rut within their relationships and so may seek out new, exciting people.

My Little Black Book

This is the second in a series of posts that I am referring to as the Books of Magic, in which I will be sharing some of my own personal Grimoires.  You can read the first entry here. 

Similar to my Grimoire, this book was inspired by an episode of Charmed. Specifically, the episode, Cheaper by the Coven (2004).  In this episode, we learn that Grams kept her own personal spell book separate from the Halliwell Family Book of Shadows in which she wrote the spells she used to keep her grandchildren "in line" when they were children. 

Interestingly, Gram's Spell Book is probably much older than we are initially led to believe as later in the episode a throwaway line by Patty (the Charmed Ones mother) hints that Grams began her spell book when Patty was a little girl herself. Patty mentions writing a spell of her own to reverse one of her mother's spells when she was eight. Patty's reversal spell specially mentions "the book" and we are left to presume that she is referring to Gram's Spell Book. 

We only learn of two spells that are written in Gram's Spell Book in this episode. They are the Spell to Resolve Sibling Rivalry and a Freezing Spell used on the girls when they are pitching a fit and need to be put in time out. At some point Gram's Spell Book ended up in the attic after her death in 1998 among her other possessions. 

Two years ago, I learned of a prop auction in which Gram's Spell Book was to be auctioned off. The auction listing included several pictures of pages that were not show on screen as well as the below description. 

Penny ‘Grams’ Halliwell’s (Jennifer Rhodes) spell book from the WB series Charmed. The purposefully distressed book consists of a black canvas cover that reads ‘Traveler’s Journal’ and a mixture of blank tea-stained pages and others with drawings, notes, and incantations inscribed with pencil and ink. The book is well worn to imitate decades of use. The book is in very good, production-used condition overall.

I love writing and keeping journals and so I have a large collection of journals, notebooks, diaries, and blank books. I love to hold them and think about the things that I will write in them, the information I will record, etc... One of the blank books I owned was a 4X6 inch hardback sketch book I had purchased at Walmart. Inspired by Gram's Spell Book, I began writing down ideas for spells and rituals in this little black book. 

Initially, I only wrote what I considered was the most important part of any spell - the incantation. I felt that most spells follow a distinct pattern. For example, candle spells basically consist of choosing a candle, etching your wish in the wax, anointing it with oil, lighting the candle and framing your intention in the form of an incantation. In some cases, a wish written on paper, a photograph, or some other such may be placed under the candle. However, for me, the incantation was the most important part of the spell as it represented your statement of intent. Since the pages weren't very large, I felt that it was only necessary for me to write the incantation and not every step in each spell. 

I wanted the book to grow organically so I was in no hurry to fill it up with spells and rituals. I would write spells and incantation in the book as need arose. Take this spell to Ease the Pain of a Tooth Extracted that I wrote when I had my wisdom teeth removed for example. 

At other times, I would take something that happened to be that day and write about it in a magical way. In some cases, I would include a little sketch to remind me what I needed for the spell and how it is to be used. 

As I became more comfortable writing in the book, I began to write spells and rituals in greater detail. I also included pictures torn from old books, magazines, and newspapers instead of sketching images myself. 

I find that writing in my little black book to be very therapeutic for me as actually writing the spells helps me to deal with my feeling and problems. I have come to believe that writing the spell is tantamount to casting the spell. I think I have been keeping this book for about 7 or 8 years now and as of this writing I have about 20 blank pages left. It has become quite distressed from being carried around (it's just small enough for me to carry in my man-purse), held, looked through, and written in. It is one of my most treasured possessions. 

- Carolina Dean 

Mercury in 00° Pisces

 

Mercury in 00° Pisces 3/9/22 5:32 PM PST Natural Chart / Whole Houses

Mercury in Pisces (General)

Mercury is said to be in detriment in Pisces. A planet is in detriment when a planet is in the sign opposite of it's rulership. Mercury rules Virgo (and Gemini) and Pisces is six signs away (or opposite) Virgo. Detriment is a term that describes the condition of a planet in a sign. When a planet is in detriment it means that a planet is cut off from it's resources and will have to adapt in order to reach it's full potential. The keyword for detriment is diminished.

Mercury is the planet of the mind. It is all about logic, our thinking, and communication. Pisces, being a water-sign, is emotionally based, dreamy, and intuitive.  So when Mercury is in Pisces, our thoughts are at odds with our emotions. You may feel caught up in your feelings. Communication proves to be more difficult. You can be more sensitive at this time and and find yourself being ruled by your emotions. You may also find yourself in danger of emotional outburst in which you blurt our your feelings without stopping to consider what you are saying.

The upside to Mercury in Pisces is that you can use this energy to get in touch your with your feelings and emotions. Your imagination is enhanced, and you can be more creative and artsy at this time. This is also a good time to practice and refine your intuitive faculties. If you are interested in any metaphysical subjects such as Astrology and Tarot, this is a good time to start learning.

Where Pisces falls in your Natal Chart is the area of life where you will have vague, romantic, and intuitive thoughts.

• If your rising sign is Aries, Pisces is your 12th House.
• If your rising sign is Taurus, Pisces is your 11th House.
• If your rising sign is Gemini, Pisces is your 10th House.
• If your rising sign is Cancer, Pisces is your 9th House.
• If your rising sign is Leo, Pisces is your 8th House.
• If your rising sign is Virgo, Pisces is your 7th House.
• If your rising sign is Libra, Pisces is your 6th House.
• If your rising sign is Scorpio, Pisces is your 5th House.
• If your rising sign is Sagittarius, Pisces is your 4th House.
• If your rising sign is Capricorn, Pisces is your 3rd House.
• If your rising sign is Aquarius, Pisces is your 2nd House.
• If your rising sign is Pisces, Pisces is your 1st House.

Example

Mercury + Pisces + 5th House

I have romantic thoughts about love

Mercury in Pisces and the 5th house of love, children, and creativity manifests as vague, romantic thoughts regarding love and romance. The mind can become clouded by feelings of love and romance with this placement making the native susceptible to deception by others, especially those that he or she cares about. You are more sensitive and have trouble defining not only your feelings but the feelings and emotions of those around you.

Nonetheless, the fifth house rules creativity (including our hobbies) and with Mercury transiting the fifth house you can more easily attune yourself to your own sense of creativity. Your hobbies bring your more satisfaction, you (re)discover yourself as an artist and visionary. You are more social and want to have more fun. The fifth house also rules over children -- if you are a parent conversations with your children can be deeper and more loving.  In terms of love, Mercury transiting the fifth house can portend meeting a romantic interest through the internet (mercury rules communication) and that he or she could either be younger than you (in age) or simply young at heart.

Aspects

Aspects, or relationships between planets, is another dimension of astrological interpretation that should be considered. For example, in my own chart Transit Mercury at 0° Pisces is applying a Trine to my Natal Venus at 2° Scorpio. A trine is a type of aspect in which the energy or urge of one planet is supportive of the urge of another planet. Since the slower planet usually has the greater effect on the faster planet, we would read this as Natal Venus Trine Transit Mercury. Let's break it down ...

Venus Trine Mercury

I Love supports I Think

Venus making a trine to Mercury increases your charm and attractiveness. You can capture the attention and interest of others but it may be harder to keep id because you can be less disciplines now. If you have something important to say or do that will require the assistance of others, this is the time to make sure that there is substance to your words and deeds.

- Carolina Dean